Six ways to create buzz for your brand on Pinterest

By Tasha Cunningham

Are you puzzled by Pinterest? If you’re wondering how to make the most of the rapidly growing image-sharing service, you’re not alone.

According to an October survey of nearly 500 small business owners conducted by Vertical Response, a San Francisco-based software firm, small business owners are focused more on Facebook and Twitter, while their use of Google + and Pinterest isn’t as robust.

Pintertest is among the fastest growing sites with more than 40 million users in November, most of whom are women, according to comScore. To help you make the most of Pinterest, BizBytes has developed a list of six ways you can create a buzz about your brand starting today.

1. Get pinnable: Pinterest is all about sharing or “pinning” photos. Make it easy for customers to share images of your products or service by making photos available on your website for download. You don’t have to limit yourself to just pictures on Pinterest. Diagrams, charts and other visual images can also be shared on Pinterest.

2. Keep it keyword rich: When you set up your profile on Pinterest, be sure to develop a description for the “About” section that is rich in keywords that relate to your product or service. This will ensure that your Pinterest page comes up in search engines. Don’t overdo it on the keywords though. Search engines sometimes flag pages that contain an overabundance of keywords. A good rule is to use three keywords per paragraph. Check out the Pinterest pages of L.A. Sweets and Misha’s Cupcakes, two Miami-based companies that rank near the top of a Pinterest keyword search for “cupcakes in Miami.”

3. Sync your social media. When you’re ready to begin pinning on Pinterest, be sure to integrate the page with your existing social media platforms. When you create a new account, Pinterest allows you to connect to your Facebook and Twitter pages. It’s important to integrate your social media platforms across the board. It’s makes the page easy to maintain and for branding consistency.

4. Create your brand around your content. The point of Pinterest is to share photos of the things that you are passionate about, which includes your small business. But to share that passion, make sure you don’t create something that looks like a direct sales pitch. Instead offer information that consumers can use. On the pinboards of Martha Stewart Living, you’ll find recipes and cooking tips. On the pinboards of American Eagle Outfitters, you’ll notice short, creative headlines like “Romina Lives in Skinny,” featuring a student from Miami who was featured in the company’s Live Your Life campaign. The board features American Eagle products by telling Romina’s story.

5. Use infographics to inform: Infographics are a popular visual tool used by major brands to convey statistics and other small nuggets of information about a particular topic. Creating an infographic doesn’t require experience in graphic design. Free tools like Easel.ly and Infogr.am make it easy to get started.

6. Curate your content: Curated content is aggregated from a variety of sources and presented as a combination whether that’s a blog post or e-book. That concept works well on Pinterest where users present a series of visual images from various sources and pin them on a virtual pinboards.

Tasha Cunningham's column runs in the Miami Herald's Business Monday. Find more on bizbytes101.com.